Air-conditioning apparatus



I Jan. 28', 1930. BAHNSQN 1,745,239

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed March 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Jan. 28, 1930 UNITED STATES BATENT OFFICE AIR-CONDITIONING APPARATUS np plication filed ma 2, 1927. Serial m. 172,107.

This ention relates to air conditioning apparatus of semi-portable type which may be located in any desired part of a room, and which may be used in any number required in any room or space wherein it is desired to maintain the air in proper condition.

An object of the invention is to provide an air conditioning apparatus, having the attributes just recited, which will be cfl'ective to heat,or to humidity the air, or both to heat and'moisten or humidifythe air as the temperature and humidity thereofmay require.

- The invention consists in the combination with air circulating means, such as a fan, of

1 air heating means, such as atubular, fluid heated, heat exchanger, and air moistening means, such as a humidifier of well known type, by which water is atomized or pulverized and fed to a current of air produced by the air-circulating means, the operation of these devicesbeing preferably automatically controlled by temperature and humidity responsive devices, respectively, in accordance with the condition of the surrounding air.

In the accompanyingdrawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation showing the complete apparatus; 1

Fig. 2 is an elevation looking toward the left of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the heater unit taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

2. This disc .6 receives water, in predetermined requisite quantity, at a point adjacentl to the axis of rotation,'through a nozzle 7 fed} by a-water pipe 8, and the water is projected by centrifugal, force from the periphery of Fig. 4 shows a modified 'form of the appathe disc against a plurality of circularly arranged baflies or vanes 9 by which it is broken up or pulverized and thus put in condition to be picked up b the current of air produced by the fan 1. y excess of water will be 65 caught by the deflector 5 and directed into a drip-pan 10 from which it may drain to waste.

The parts thus far described are of wellknown t pe and are sufliciently shown and described 1n .my Patent No. 1,544,418, granted J une 30, 1925, to require no further detailed description here.

Directly in the path of the current of air induced by the fan 1, and in advance of the fan, I arrange anair heating device comprising, in the form shown, a heat radiator or exchanger having a casing'll provided with an upper chamber 12 and a lower chamber 13, these two chambers being connected by-a plurality of tubes 14 arranged in staggered rela- 7 tion, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, to provide tortuous air paths through the heater.

] Steam, or other heating fluid, (but I prefer to use steam) is introduced into the heater at the chamber 12 through a pipe 15 and, passing through the tubes 14, reaches chamber 13 from which it, or water of condensation,may escape through a pipe 16.

The air passing through the heater is directed to the airmoistener or humidifier by l means of a casing or funnel 17.

The whole apparatus thus .far described may be suitably supported from the ceiling of the room or from any other desired support by a framework 18to which are securedgthe 35 clamps 19 of a bracket 20 which provides a carrier for the various parts.

Mounted in any appropriate locationin the room or space in which the air is to be conditioned are a thermostat 21 and a humidostat 22. Thethermostat is interposed in an electric circuit which operates a valve 23 in the heater pipe 15, and the'humidostat'is interposed in an electric circuit which'operates a valve 24 in the water pipe 8. Both of these circuits are in series with the motor 2through an appro riate switch mecha'nism25 and each circuit may therefore energize the motor independently of the other. V This particular electrical circuit is tobe un? as illustrative of the type of control which is contemplated. Suitable low voltage relay circuits may be employed in place of the line or motor circuit for rating the valves. As shown in Figs. 1 an 2, the apparatus is arranged upon a horizontal axis, but it is sossible that in-some installations it might be esirable to have .it arranged upon a vertical axis, and such an' arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. But the esential details of the ap-' paratus and its controls are the same in both forms.

However, in the form shown in Fig. 4, the

deflector 5, in addition to its action in catch-- ing the spray of water particles from the disc 6 as they are broken up by the vanes 9 upon its inner surface, is so designed that its outer surface acts as a deflector to distribute the air circumferentially.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the operation of my invention will be obvious, but in the interest of clearness such operation may be stated as follows The thermostat is responsive to the room temperature, and the humidostat is responsive to the room humidity and they are set to operate whenever such temperature and humidity deviate fromcertain predetermined.

desirable points.

If the percentage of humidity is toolow,

I throunhthe motor 2 and valve 23. thusstartthe humidostat will operate to close the circuit through the valve 24 and motor 2. This will operate the fan 1 and rotate disc 6 and will, simultaneously; open valve 24 to supply water to disc 6 through pipe 8 and nozzle 7. When the predetermined desired percentage of humidity in thus reestablished, the humidostat will break the circuit through the motor and valve thereby stopping the feed of moisture to the air.

If the room temperature is too low, the thermostat will operate to close a circuit ing the fan and opening the valve 23 to admit heating fluid to the heater, to thereby circulate air throughthe heater in contact with the heated tubes thereof. When the predetermined room temperature is thus reestablished, the thermostat will open the circuit with those devices which are designed to take air from the outside of a building and condition it before it is circulated within the building, Such devices are from .their na-- tum large, require special rooms for their tures.

installation, require constant attention, and are expensive, not only as regards their first cost but as rds their operation.

My device is, as hereinbefore pointed out,

of a semi-portable nature, and may be located in the room in which the air is to be treated. Any number of my devices may be used in a single room, and so placed therein as to give the maximum desired eflect.

The first cost of my apparatus is relatively low, and the operating cost thereof -prac-' tically negligible.

It is withln the rovince of my invention to circulate a coohng. medium instead of a heating-medium through the heat exchanger, thus adapting the apparatus to cooling and humidifying the air, as would be desirable during the summer months, or in installations where'room temperature is normally high. This change from heating to cooling can be made with no changes in the apparatus other than adjustment of the thermostat to close the circuit through the motor 2 and valve 23 when room temperature becomes too high.

It is to be noted that another advantage of the use of the heater with my humidifier resides in the fact that additional evaporation from the humidifier is thereby made possible for, as is well known, it takes more water to produce the same relative humidity at higher temperatures than at low tempera- It will thus be seen that I provide a very simple and relatively inexpensive air conditionmg apparatus, capable of'performing all of the fimctions of the more costly and cumbersome lants now in use, and having marked a vantages thereover, in that whereas such plants supply airat the same temrature and humidity for all rooms in a uilding fed thereby my devices are placed in the rooms themse ves and are sub ect to and'controlled by conditions in such rooms or the parts of such rooms in which they and their control devices the thermostat and humidostat) are loca Various changes are contemplated as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

1. In an air conditioning apparatus, a heatexchanger, a humidifier, a motor and a fan driven thereby. and operatively associated with said heat-exchanger and said humidifier and ads ted to cause circulation of air through sai heat-exchanger and said humidifier, and means for automatically controlling the operation of said heat-exchanger and said humidifier and therewith of said motor independently of each other or simultaneously in response to temperature and humidity conditions of the air to be treated.

2. In an air conditioning apparatus, a humidifier ofthe type including a rotatable III disk to which water may he delivered and atomizing projections arranged at the periphery of said disk, a motor having said disk mounted at one end of the armature shaft thereof, a fan secured to the other end of said motor shaft for directing a current of air towards said humidifier, a heat-exchangor so positioned adjacent said fan that the current of air established by said fan passes said heat-exchanger, a humidostat for controlling the supply of Water to said disk, a

thermostat for controlling the supply of a' heating agent to said heat-exchanger, and a single supporting means for said humidifier,

motor, fan and heat-exchanger, whereby said 4 apparatus constitutes a unitary semi-portable structure capable of installation in any desired location.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

FREDERIC F.- BAHNSON. 

